Maya Angelou

Week of June 9, 2014

In the News: Maya Angelou, 1928-2014

A memorial service for the multiple-award-winning author, poet, scriptwriter, playwright, performer, actress, and composer, Maya Angelou, was held Saturday, June 7 at Wake Forest University where she was the Reynolds Professor of American Studies. Her first publication, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969), was an immediate success and garnered a National Book Award nomination.

About the video:
The artists, rebels, and bohemians who came to New York’s Greenwich Village over many decades changed the face of American culture through their art and politics. This film portrays the important political and social movements that began in the Village: the first interracial jazz club, the earliest Socialist newspapers from before World War I, the Stonewall Rebellion which sparked the Gay Liberation movement and many others. This unique film includes anecdotes from many famous writers, musicians and performers who got their start in the Village. Actor/ director Tim Robbins speaks about growing up in the Village and attending early protest rallies. Allen Ginsberg shows us the coffee house where he first read poetry. Playwright Edward Albee remembers how his controversial plays found a home here. Also appearing in the film are film director Woody Allen, poet Maya Angelou, author Norman Mailer, folk singers Peter, Paul & Mary, Judy Collins, Richie Havens and jazz drummer Roy Haynes — as well as local Village painters, activists, club owners and drag queens.